Researchers Credit "Rampant" Sex for This Italian Town's Long Lifespan

Scientists from the San Diego School of Medicine and Sapienza University in Rome have spent the last six months puzzling over one question: Why do people in the Italian village of Acciaroli live so long? More than 10 percent of them live for a century or more, and few of them suffer from conditions like heart disease and dementia that many Americans consider part of the territory of getting older. In addition, while women tend to live longer than men in most parts of the world, there was a balanced gender ratio among the 80 people in the study.

The researchers have come up with a few different theories—like that Acciaroli residents are fans of the famous Mediterranean diet and have an affinity for rosemary—but the most interesting guess is that the townsfolk have got healthy, active sex lives.

"Sexual activity among the elderly appears to be rampant," cardiologist Alan S. Maisel, told The Daily Mail. "Maybe living long has something to do with that. It's probably the good air and the joie de vivre."

We don't always talk about sex among older people, but even outside of Acciaroli, it's happening. According to a study published earlier this year in Archives of Sexual Behavior, 54 percent of men and 31 percent of women between ages 50 and 90 in England are still having sex at least twice a month.

The idea that sexual activity could extend your life isn't too out-there, given that sex can improve your circulation, lower your stress, and even reduce the risk of hypertension in older women. Sex educator Betty Dodson once even said that her trick to staying young at 85 was frequent masturbation.

You often hear debate over what diet provides the secret to longevity, but maybe it's sex that's the real fountain of youth.